The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-06-13
COMMENCEMENT SEASON.
Points from the Baccalaureate Sermon OF
President futile. of wabash College.

Points from the Baccalaureate Sermon of
| President futile, of wabash College.
| Special to the indianapolis journal
| CRAwFoRDsvILLE, June 12-This morning
President futile delivered the baccalaureate TO
the class of 87-twenty-one young men. His
text was MY God shall supply all your need"
! "Epaphroditus minstered to my wants." I'VE
| all know how that these hands have ministered
to my necessities" Acts Xxx. 81; Phil ii, % and
| iv, 10 The theme is Want, Supply and Help.
| The words want, need and necessities are a
translation of the same Greek word Want is
| universal condition of man in this life and prob
| ably in the life to come There are wants of
| body and they need supply. The same is true
| of mans mind, his emotional nature and his con-
science. He also wants immortal b,essedness.
The supply of the wants is the air to the
wing, as the water to the fin. The help to sup
ply mans wants is three fold, the help of God,
the help of neighbor, and self-help. The latter
was dwelt on with earnest plea for its devel
opment The discourse concluded with the
special address to the class:
Young men of the class 49, the baccalau-
reate addressed to you has in general way
discussed human events their supply, and the
helps which supply them. You know somewhat
of the wants. | need not enumerate them.
Your wants have been supplied, in part by your
Heavenly Father, IN part by your fellowmen,
and in part by yourself You are concluding
very trying and important period of yonr lives.
In so far your God and your neighbor have
helped you, thank them. Say to God. the giver
of ali, We bless Thee and to the neighbor who
has helped you, God bless YOU
Il cannot think that any of you will review
this period without recognizing the help of God
and neighbor They have indeed, both helped
you. / am more concerned about that in your
experience which call self help. 1 am more
concerned about you than am about your God
and your neighbor. L want you to be self
hni~ l,,.-
help you to III OF course God and neigh Dor are
to help you but do not want you to let them
do all the helping. Pray to Jupiter. but put
your own shoulder to the wheel. Accept the
brotherly help of man and the fatherly help of
God, but help yourselves. There multitudes
of the worthy poor. and there are multitudes of
the unworthy poor. Do not say it is curse to
be rich. nor yet that 1t IS curse
to be poor. What 1 plead for is
such manly independence that you will
to let another do for you what you can do for
yourselves. | plead for more-that you show
your manhood by providing something for the
future Nay, more, that you produce more than
you consume, SO that you may be able to be
good Samaritans among those less fortunate
than yourselves.
II am urging you to have piety toward God and
love for your neighbor. But just now plead
with you to assert your own manhood in all the
struggles and straitnesses of this life by helping
yourselves. 1 am pleading for the great and
noble art of self-help. There seems a special
call to this in our day among those who pur-
suing liberal courses of education Our colleges
and universities are aiming to make education
free. Benevolent people are establishing addi-
tional foundations to heip students until fear
the danger which seems to be threatening the
grand element of self-hep We must not for
own sakes leave this out The help that
really helps is the triple help of God, neIghbor
and self II we lean solely God We become
helpless as the ball which athlete smites.
IL we rely solely on neghbor we become weak
young bird in the nest If We rely solely
ourselves we become self -conceted. not
pleasant to live with, besides utterly fail
combine the three helps in help, and the
suit is the best manhood man is capable of
attaining. This rule applies to all the spheres
of activity in which you shall move In some
profession you are to win bread and power. If /
you succeed it will be in the way indicated.
Your highest calling is to win immortal bless
edness. This is your souls greatest want Sal
walton is free. 1t is the gift of God. We can
not create 1t, nor can we buy it. 1t Is above
want supply and help holds good here. The
souls chief want is immortal blessedness. Its
supply is Gods free gift through Jesus Christ.
Here it is true: My God shall supply all your
need Yet the help OF others must be present,
and it is 1t is found in the good master, and
friend. and society it is found in prophet and
apostle and Christian. 1t is found in Christiani-
~, school, book and country. Your surround
ings are brotherly There are brotherly hearts
everywhere Surely so far as concerns your
want of immortal blessedness, your God aud
your nelghbor are ready to help you.
yet fear some of you lose sight of chief
agent in supplying this chief want mean
supreme want of your soul will be supplied
whether You help yourselves or not. You are
mistaken. God will help in the supply of this
want. So will neighbor. But am not inten-
tionally irreverent in saying that God will not
or, to make it more postive-God cannot save
you all the brotherly good Samaritans in
the world unless you help yourselves. God is to
work in you and you in yourselves are to work
out your own salvation. Help yourselves and
the Almighty Father and the brotnerly neiehbor
will help you. And thus here and hereafter you
shall have the souls greatest want supplied with
immortal blessedness
..Remem Der part that in the discussion of
the three great entities. want, supply and help,
am ringing the changes on self-hep. Old Her
bert says, Help myself and God will help thee
And open the door that leads you to the great
world and dismiss you to its activities burdens,
struggles defeats, victories, with this benedic-
ton. in all the wants of life may you never lack
the help of God. neghbo and yourselves. Fare
we'll"
The annual address before the college branch
of the Y. NJ. c. A. delivered this evening at
the First Presbyterian Church by Rev. j. A.
of Indianapolis. The address proved |
to be of unusual interest and was listened to
with marked attention.